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Category Archives: Legislation

AI in Banking and Finance, December 16, 2023

AI in Banking and Finance, December 16, 2023 – This semi-monthly column by  Sabrina I. Pacifici highlights news, government reports, industry, NGO/IGO white papers, academic papers and speeches on the subject of AI’s fast paced impact on the banking and finance sectors. The chronological links provided are to the primary sources, and as available, indicate… Continue Reading

GIS Technology to assist in identifying “legal deserts”

“NCSC has recently started utilizing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping technology to assist state courts in identifying “legal deserts” – areas where people may face challenges accessing legal resources and services. GIS technology can help courts gain deeper insights into the needs of people living in legal deserts by generating legal desert maps that consider access-to-justice… Continue Reading

Regulating and Monitoring AI and Social Media

Brennan Center for Justice: Regulating AI Deepfakes – “Artificial intelligence–produced video and audio can make it impossible to separate fact from fiction when deciding how to vote. Next year will bring the first presidential election of the AI deepfake era, and policymakers must be prepared to protect the democratic process from the dangers of these… Continue Reading

Archival Records of Congress: Frequently Asked Questions

CRS – Archival Records of Congress: Frequently Asked Questions Updated December 7, 2023 – “Congressional offices and committees receive, generate, and process many paper and digital files in the course of their work. Archivists preserve some of this historical material, which can help inform future Congresses and researchers studying congressional history. This report is intended… Continue Reading

How Nations Are Losing a Global Race to Tackle A.I.’s Harms

The New York Times [read free]- “Alarmed by the power of artificial intelligence, Europe, the United States and others are trying to respond — but the technology is evolving more rapidly than their policies. When European Union leaders introduced a 125-page draft law to regulate artificial intelligence in April 2021, they hailed it as a… Continue Reading

Automakers’ data privacy practices “are unacceptable”

Ars Technica: “US Senator Edward Markey (D-Mass.) is one of the more technologically engaged of our elected lawmakers. And like many technologically engaged Ars Technica readers, he does not like what he sees in terms of automakers’ approach to data privacy. On Friday, Sen. Markey wrote to 14 car companies with a variety of questions… Continue Reading

Privacy First: A Better Way to Address Online Harms

EFF: “State, federal, and international regulators are increasingly concerned about the harms they believe the internet and new technology are causing. The list is long, implicating child safety, journalism, access to healthcare data, digital justice, competition, artificial intelligence, and government surveillance, just to name a few. The stories behind them are important: no one wants… Continue Reading

Unclassified Documents Contain Troubling Information About Dragnet Phone Surveillance Program

“Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., called on Attorney General Merrick Garland [Read the full letter to Attorney General Garland here] to make public documents related to the Hemisphere phone surveillance program, which allows federal, state, local and Tribal law enforcement agencies to request searches of trillions of U.S. phone records, usually without warrants. Although the documents… Continue Reading

Education Department lists schools under investigation for ‘possible discrimination’ based on shared ancestry

The Hill: “The Department of Education released a list of higher education and K-12 institutions that are under investigation for alleged shared ancestry violations Thursday as part of the Biden administration’s effort to address reports of rising discrimination in schools. “Hate has no place in our schools, period. When students are targeted because they are–or… Continue Reading

As mass shootings multiplied, the horrific human cost was concealed

Washington Post: “States reeling from gun violence made graphic imagery confidential — part of a charged debate over privacy and public awareness. States have increasingly restricted records showing the impact of gun violence. How? Some have used or created exemptions to public records laws to withhold crime scene evidence, such as photos of mutilated bodies… Continue Reading